Part of Fitz Hill's final recruiting class, Owens attended San Jose State University, the only school that offered him an athletic scholarship.[3] Owens redshirted his freshman year and first played in 2005, under new head coach Dick Tomey. In 11 games played as a freshman, Owens had 35 tackles, 2 interceptions, 6 passes defended, and a forced fumble.[4] As a sophomore in 2006, Owens led San Jose State to the 2006 New Mexico Bowl title and played 13 games (starting all 13) with 50 tackles, 4 interceptions, and 9 passes defended.[4][1]

As a junior in 2007, Owens was selected All-WAC second-team and led the conference with six interceptions; he also had 75 tackles and 9 passes defended.[1][4] In his senior season of 2008, Owens had 68 tackles, one interception, 9 passes defended, and 2 forced fumbles.[4]

In the 2009 NFL Draft, the Atlanta Falcons selected Owens in the third round, 90th overall. As a rookie, Owens played 16 games with 6 starts. He had 29 tackles, 2 passes defended, and 2 interceptions.[7]

In 2011, Owens played 14 games with 2 starts. He had 27 tackles, a sack, 3 passes defended, a quarterback hit, 2 tackles for loss, and 8 special teams tackles.[7]

In 2012, Owens played in 13 games with one start. In the regular season, Owens had 17 tackles, 4 passes defended, one tackle for loss, one forced fumble, and 5 special teams tackles. In the postseason, Owens played in the NFC Championship Game, a 28-24 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.[8] Owens had one tackle, on special teams.[7]

Owens signed with the Cleveland Browns in 2013. He played 12 games with 2 starts and had 51 tackles, 2.5 sacks (for a total loss of 13.5 yards), 3 passes defended, 2 quarterback hits, a tackle for loss, a fumble recovery, a forced fumble, and six special teams tackles.[7] On December 17, the Browns waived Owens.[9] The following day, Owens signed with the Miami Dolphins.[10] Owens played in the Dolphins' season finale, a 20-7 loss to the New York Jets, and had a tackle on special teams.[11][7]

On March 21, 2014, Owens signed with the Kansas City Chiefs. In the 2014 season, Owens played 11 games with 3 starts for the Chiefs and had 33 tackles with 4 passes defended.[12]